Entertainment and hosting venues often have seating for audiences attending performances. Venue seating should maximize seating capacity for a given amount of floor area while remaining comfortable and safe for guests. The seating should also be installed in a manner that permits foot-traffic of guests within rows for their convenience, comfort, and safety. Some venue seating must be configured to be handicapped-accessible. Venue seating tends to be sturdily constructed because of the heavy use and long service life it must typically endure. Venue seating must also be sturdily constructed to withstand indifferent treatment by patrons and ensure patron safety.
Typical venue seating is configured in modular rows of several seats—several of these rows are used to fill the venue with seating. These and other common venue seating systems are “permanently” installed; meaning that although they can be removed and reinstalled, doing so is time and labor intensive. For this type of setup, removal and reinstallation of the seating is impractical for a single event, or even a series of events over a short period. Furthermore, it may be difficult to arrange modular rows of seating in a way that maximizes seating capacity for a particular venue. For example, it may be difficult to achieve curved rows with this type of seating system.
Sometimes it is desirable to remove seating from a venue for a performance or event that is better suited for a bare floor (angled, flat, or tiered). For example, if the owner of a medium-sized performing arts theater with permanent seating has an opportunity to host a big-ticket rock concert, the owner cannot convert the floor-space into a bare floor to maximize ticket sales. Thus, the owner of that venue would probably have to decline such an event opportunity for inability to generate sufficient revenue for the performers. In another example, a place of worship may want to host a dance event for its congregation in its normal worship space; removable seating would be necessary to accommodate this event. Situations like this could be significant factors affecting the revenue generating potential and versatility of a venue.
Portable chairs, particularly if they are designed to be stackable, address many of the issues raised above. However, stackable chairs are almost invariably uncomfortable and lack a professional appearance. Furthermore, they are typically not as rugged as permanent seating installations. They also tend to be less space efficient, because the chairs may not be shaped for efficient abutment. This is especially true where curved rows of seats are desired. Even if an efficient seating arrangement is achieved, the chairs will quickly shift out of position and the arrangement will waste more space over time. The migration of the chairs may also affect foot-traffic and handicapped mobility as the rows become deformed, crooked, and narrow in portions. In order to overcome these problems, the chairs must be regularly rearranged—perhaps before every event. The movement of the chairs may damage the floor and the chairs over an extended period.
Chairs are also less safe and more likely to be stolen due to their mobility. Because they are often less sturdily built, they are more likely to collapse after extended use or if overloaded. In the event of a fire or mass panic, many of the chairs could be knocked over resulting in unwanted obstructions and additional injuries. The additional obstruction caused by the chairs may induce or worsen a stampede. A seating system with permanent seating is highly preferable for most entertainment venues, particularly for safety reasons.
What is desired is a venue seating system that maximizes the versatility of a venue in which it is installed, while retaining the comfort, safety, and professional appearance of permanent venue seating. To accomplish this end, the seating must be easily removed and installed. Specifically, each seat should be capable of being installed and removed in a very short period of time by a single individual or small group of people without the use of tools. What is even more desirable is a system where the seats are fungible and do not have to be reinstalled in the same location from where they were removed. This is especially crucial given the raw number of seats that must be removed and installed, and the short amount of time a venue may have to convert its seating arrangement.
The seating system must be sufficiently rugged for the demands of venue seating. Although the seating must be easy to remove intentionally, it must be difficult to remove accidentally for guest safety. It is also preferable for the method of removal not to be immediately obvious to (and preferably go unnoticed by) a majority of the venue patrons. Furthermore, the seating must be convenient to transport and store once removed from the venue. It would also be desirable for the seating to be capable of functioning as seats when removed from the venue. It would also be desirable to have a removable seating system that minimizes damage to the floor they are mounted on, both during use and during temporary installation/removal. Finally, it is important, particularly when a dance floor is desired, to leave a very smooth, finished floor without residual mounting hardware protruding from the surface when the seating is temporarily removed.